Cute Pens For Us Girls!

[GabrielleDuVent]

I checked this morning. My wife is a girl. It says so on her driver's license.

She likes a black, LAMY 2000. It settles nicely into her hand. It writes smoothly.

It holds lots of ink. (It didn't cost her anything.) She likes Diamine Emerald ink.

 

Got that, girls ?

 

... So what's your point? Because your wife is a female, we're supposed to... not desire pens that are slightly more feminine in design than what's offered on the market?

 

What some of us desire is more variety. None of us have said "use feminine pens or else".

 

Or is that so difficult to understand?

[Plume145]

I don't like the idea of an expensive pen taking only cartridges, either! I even have lots of student-y pens that take converters, really, so not taking converters is kinda the bottom of the barrel! I can sort-of abide it if it's a tiny pen, as in one that's very short not one that's merely slim, but otherwise, no. Major blooper, FP designer people! And by short I mean something like a sheaffer agio compact, not your parker jotter FP or anything. Although, I don't know if anyone remembers the old Pilot Birdy FPs, those DO take converters, and they are short and thin enough to fit the narrow pen loops on small organizers and the like - really skinny wee pens. Okay, it's the heinous (well, to me lol) squeezy kind of converter, but heck, it's a converter! And the pen is dirt-cheap.

 

 

 

 

Got that, girls ?

woah. are you actually being as antagonistic as it looks, or is that just an accident of the medium in which we're communicating? If it's the latter, smilies are you friend - might I suggest you use them

[terminal]

LAMY 2000...[etz]...

 

Got that, girls ?

This jumps out at me, not just because of what everyone else is saying, but because of the mention of Lamy 2000. That's like saying, my wife likes a Herman Miller Eames Lounge chair got that girls?!?!? . My wife likes a Macbook Air.. so there girls! I don't know, the Lamy 2000.... it's not like... a TACTICAL PEN with a built-in switchblade bayonet slingshot or something.

[Dillo]

I don't like the idea of an expensive pen taking only cartridges, either! I even have lots of student-y pens that take converters, really, so not taking converters is kinda the bottom of the barrel! I can sort-of abide it if it's a tiny pen, as in one that's very short not one that's merely slim, but otherwise, no. Major blooper, FP designer people! And by short I mean something like a sheaffer agio compact, not your parker jotter FP or anything. Although, I don't know if anyone remembers the old Pilot Birdy FPs, those DO take converters, and they are short and thin enough to fit the narrow pen loops on small organizers and the like - really skinny wee pens. Okay, it's the heinous (well, to me lol) squeezy kind of converter, but heck, it's a converter! And the pen is dirt-cheap.

I actually happen to like the press-bar converters a lot, but I guess they might be an acquired taste. They often hold more ink than their piston-fill counterparts, and use them instead of the piston converter when I can, but anyway, to each his/her/their (See, I try to be politically correct sometimes) own. Anyway, some people like larger or maybe more aggressively-styled pens or even pens in somber colors like black, but there are also others who like smaller pens with cuter designs. I don't think there is really anything wrong to offer the choice for us who want it.

 

Dillon

Edited July 13, 2013 by Dillo

[XiaoMG]

 

... So what's your point? Because your wife is a female, we're supposed to... not desire pens that are slightly more feminine in design than what's offered on the market?

 

What some of us desire is more variety. None of us have said "use feminine pens or else".

 

Or is that so difficult to understand?

I think you were the one who started this sexist thread, and the poster you're replying to was being facetious.

[ac12]

The Cross Spire strikes me a being feminine in market direction.

It is available in gold, gloss black and chrome.

 

But the Spire is a THIN pen, about the same size as the old Cross Century pens. So if you have large fingers, you may not like it.

 

It is cartridge only, no converter is available...yet.

So you have to use a syringe to reload a used ink cartridge if you want different ink than Cross makes.

[jaymac]

Perhaps not a feminine design, but interesting colors.

 

 

 

http://www.franklin-christoph.com/uploads/1/0/4/5/10453260/6382715_orig.jpg

[hot cocoa]

I checked this morning. My wife is a girl. It says so on her driver's license.

She likes a black, LAMY 2000. It settles nicely into her hand. It writes smoothly.

It holds lots of ink. (It didn't cost her anything.) She likes Diamine Emerald ink.

 

Got that, girls ?

 

I'm a girl and this made me laugh, mostly because I think that offense is taken way more often than it is actually given.

 

My taste in pens has evolved a lot over the years, but has now trended firmly toward pocket pens. They fit in my girl pockets or clip inside my shirt and work just peachy that way.

 

As for girly colors, well, I like all colors, some more than others. Like Dillon, I think the Hello Kitty Sapporo was a bit over the top colorwise, but if one landed in my hands I'd have no problem channeling my inner 4-year old princess and love it to death.

Edited July 13, 2013 by hot cocoa

[GabrielleDuVent]

Right. So here's a rundown so far:

 

 

A MINORITY wants pens that are more feminine in design available.

 

The rest: "THIS IS SEXIST!".

 

 

In which case, perhaps we should go back to pre-war view of wristwatches. Wristwatches were not worn by men until World War I, and while they had no gender designations, no self-respecting man would wear it. "Would sooner wear a skirt as wear a wristwatch".

 

We'll use big black pens and you gentlemen can wear watches like this:

 

http://juliasbeautyblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/english/P-5_Feerie-Poetic-Complicat.jpg

 

That's fair, no? It functions as a watch.

[slacker.lax]

Right. So here's a rundown so far:

 

 

A MINORITY wants pens that are more feminine in design available.

 

The rest: "THIS IS SEXIST!".

 

 

In which case, perhaps we should go back to pre-war view of wristwatches. Wristwatches were not worn by men until World War I, and while they had no gender designations, no self-respecting man would wear it. "Would sooner wear a skirt as wear a wristwatch".

 

We'll use big black pens and you gentlemen can wear watches like this:

 

http://juliasbeautyblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/english/P-5_Feerie-Poetic-Complicat.jpg

 

That's fair, no? It functions as a watch.

I guess the difference between the gender is something which can only be understood well by someone neutral. Its common that women and self-decoration has been quite innate in the gender more so than the other gender that is men! Evolution?! Whatever! But one can't deny this need of women to like things delicate, pretty(as in colours, patterns, designs which are light, slender and slim?). And again "Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder" still holds true and women, I mean quite many won't show this trait.

 

But, its not even about the design or something considering its pen. I have seen here people being men, who own pens with various pens and designs, flowery reds, greens, yellows, bright colours. I think it still boils down to the user. But in the end, there is a market which is genuine I guess.

 

In short, there is a trait I guess which should be catered to by the pen industry. So, I agree with the OP.

[XiaoMG]

Right. So here's a rundown so far:

 

 

A MINORITY wants pens that are more feminine in design available.

 

The rest: "THIS IS SEXIST!".

 

 

In which case, perhaps we should go back to pre-war view of wristwatches. Wristwatches were not worn by men until World War I, and while they had no gender designations, no self-respecting man would wear it. "Would sooner wear a skirt as wear a wristwatch".

 

We'll use big black pens and you gentlemen can wear watches like this:

 

-snip-

 

That's fair, no? It functions as a watch.

You aren't very good at reading, and certainly not very good at gender discussion. You have frequently mischaracterized posts by those who you do not seem to like, and you continue to insist upon infantile stereotypes.

 

Edited to remove what might be construed as a personal attack

Edited July 13, 2013 by XiaoMG

[mhguda]

If you look at European (or north American for that matter) paintings from the period two to three hundred years ago, you might think that "elegant, dainty, delicate" etc were innate masculine traits. Men wore red in those days, and dressed colorfully - that was a sign of status. If we take a slightly longer perspective on what we think beautiful, masculine or feminine, we might be greatly surprised - and not make sweeping statements about what people like, and how that is linked to their sex. Or gender.

[TSherbs]

You aren't very good at reading, and certainly not very good at gender discussion. You have frequently mischaracterized posts by those who you do not seem to like, and you continue to insist upon infantile stereotypes.

 

Edited to remove what might be construed as a personal attack

This seems even more harsh. I think that the discussion has been friendly, and interesting.

[TSherbs]

Here is a humorous take on "feminine" roller pens (a humorous review from Amazon):

 

<<This review is from: BIC Cristal For Her Ball Pen, 1.0mm, Black, 16ct (MSLP16-Blk) (Office Product)

Someone has answered my gentle prayers and FINALLY designed a pen that I can use all month long! I use it when I'm swimming, riding a horse, walking on the beach and doing yoga. It's comfortable, leak-proof, non-slip and it makes me feel so feminine and pretty! Since I've begun using these pens, men have found me more attractive and approachable. It has given me soft skin and manageable hair and it has really given me the self-esteem I needed to start a book club and flirt with the bag-boy at my local market. My drawings of kittens and ponies have improved, and now that I'm writing my last name hyphenated with the Robert Pattinson's last name, I really believe he may some day marry me! I'm positively giddy. Those smart men in marketing have come up with a pen that my lady parts can really identify with.

Where has this pen been all my life???>>

 

Over the top, but fun (credit to Brainpickings, where this was posted today)

[Dillo]

In my opinion, the Bic Cristal for her pens were just a really undercooked idea. I usually like thinner pens since I have small hands, and they are thinner, but even if I can use them, most of my friends hate how thin they are. The silver foil stamp is actually quite nice, but the "jewel" motif looks kind of weird. I think they should have made the "jewels" more random in shape, and arranged them more creatively. They do "catch" the light, but barely. There is something quite wrong with the jewels from an aesthetic point of view. Also, the pens happen to come in very similar colors to the BIC razors that they sell, and that's all I think about when I see them. (One of my best friends liked to leave her old ones lying around everywhere. I love her to death, but that's all I think about when I see this pen now). And, in my opinion (and my mom's too when she saw the package), those aren't very nice colors. Last of all, there are no color options besides black and blue ink. If you want one, I can send you one in the mail. I have a whole package. Let me know what color you want first. Also, most of them come out of the package with some cracks on the body where the refill fits. I only found two pens in an entire package that didn't have cracks. I think they work pretty well for labeling indoor potted plants though. You can stick the pen quite easily in the dirt since it's quite skinny and pointy, and write the plant name on the body of the pen or attach a label to it.

 

Dillon

[queenofpens]

This jumps out at me, not just because of what everyone else is saying, but because of the mention of Lamy 2000. That's like saying, my wife likes a Herman Miller Eames Lounge chair got that girls?!?!? . My wife likes a Macbook Air.. so there girls! I don't know, the Lamy 2000.... it's not like... a TACTICAL PEN with a built-in switchblade bayonet slingshot or something.

 

I like tactical pens, too.

 

And high-tech designs.

 

And I searched carefully to find 2 Chinese-made Barbie fountain pens in the US, one for my collection of novelty pens and one for my granddaughter if she takes to fountain pens - and yes, both are pink.

 

Being an IT project manager, I guess, is why I keep coming back to functional requirements - I need more pens that fit my very small hands and are well-balanced, with converters.

 

Style and color are nice-to-have addenda, not functional requirements from my point of view. From the manufacturer's point of view, I will buy more pens and higher-priced pens if they meet all of my functional requirements, plus style and color.

[terminal]

 

This jumps out at me, not just because of what everyone else is saying, but because of the mention of Lamy 2000. That's like saying, my wife likes a Herman Miller Eames Lounge chair got that girls?!?!? . My wife likes a Macbook Air.. so there girls! I don't know, the Lamy 2000.... it's not like... a TACTICAL PEN with a built-in switchblade bayonet slingshot or something.

I like tactical pens, too.

 

Man sometimes you can't win for loosing. I mean, of course, that a Lamy 2000 is kind of a bad example, not that girls aren't allowed to like tactical pens. I felt like the disclaimer I wrote would cover this eventuality but I guess not.

[queenofpens]

Sorry, I didn't mean it that way - only that your original post amused me.

 

I like practically everything in the way of style, as long as it writes well. And by now, I've learned to live with my own contradictions in terms of tomboy style, with occasional unexepected gusts of femininity.

[jetsam]

Generally speaking, differentiating the sexes is especially important today when equality is confused with sameness.

*How* one does it is less important. Why not with pens!

[subramaniyam]

You should take a look at the Camlin Cute. It is a nice ED, quite short and has a comfortable diameter. Beware: You will need to post the pen to use it, but it is quite comfortable.

 

Regards,

Sub